QLFC Season 4 Entries
by Trusted Trouble
Summary: All of my QLFC rounds - so basically a load of one-shots probably including every Harry Potter character/pairing ever:) enjoy!
1. In Her Wrong Mind

**Word count without a/n: 1,081**

 **Written for QLFC round 1: write about your chosen death eater being at school.**

 **Chaser 3 for Puddlemere United**

 **Prompts:**

 **"People in their right minds never take pride in their talents." - Harper Lee, _To Kill a Mockingbird_**

 **Anger (emotion)**

 **"I should warn you..." (dialogue)**

* * *

Ever since they had been small, Bella Black had always been somewhat... _odd._

At first, Andromeda, along with her not-quite-so-concerned-parents, had thought the eldest daughter to be a mere trickster; eager for a practical joke, excited to plan a hoax, you know the type.

But, from the ages of five to eight, Bella's little 'pranks' had evolved from the childish activity of scribbling moustaches on the portraits of deceased Blacks dotted around the manor to ordering one of the family's house elves to jump from a three-story balcony because she'd "dropped her favourite doll over the side".

Needless to say, their father hadn't been pleased when the unpleasant task of mounting another head on the wall came a few decades too early.

But Bella Black was no longer a child. It had been four years since she'd begun Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as a puny, Slytherin first year, determined to make her way in the world by terrorising others and flaunting her talents at every possible opportunity.

Though, after ten detentions and the threat of suspension, Bella soon cleaned up her act.

(In front of the professors and parents, that is).

"Must we, Bella?" Andromeda asked, pulling her winter robe tight around her shivering body as an attempt to block the chilly wind that rushed through the surrounding trees.

Her elder sister continued to stride ahead, boots crunching through the deep snow underfoot. "Don't be such a baby," she said without looking back. "What's life without a little adventure?"

"A butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks sounds like the perfect adventure to me," Edward Travers – one of Andromeda's fellow third years - muttered under his breath from beside her. The two momentarily made eye contact and the corners of her mouth lifted slightly.

"I _can_ hear you," Bella said, briefly glancing back over her shoulder to frown distastefully at the freckled boy. "Don't think I can't."

"I _don't_ think you can't," Edward replied, however his voice didn't come out nearly as strong as he'd intended, sounding more like a timid kitten than a fierce lion.

But Bella still spun around, drawing her wand from the inside pocket of her robe and pointing it straight at him. "I should warn you-"

"Oh do be quiet," Augustus Rookwood, the fourth and final member of their party interrupted, stepping forward to grab Bella's wrist and force it downwards. "Both of you." He looked between them for a second, then turned to address Bella. "Can you hurry this up or I'm turning back. At this rate our eyeballs will be frozen over before we get a chance to see whatever it is you're trying to show us."

"Fine," Bella said, keeping her eyes narrowed viciously at Edward for a moment longer before shifting her focus to look down at the wizarding village of Hogsmeade behind him. It was painted white with the heavy December snow that had fallen a few days ago and, from their distance, their fellow student looked nothing more than ants, scurrying around the cobbled streets. Bella observed them briefly, then declared, "We only need to get far enough away so that nobody can see us." And she turned on her heel and marched off again, leaving Andromeda, Edward and Augustus to scramble through the snow after her.

Five minutes later Bella drew to a stop, apparently happy that they'd reached their destination. "This'll do," she said, drawing her wand again.

Edward took a small step back.

"This better be good," Augustus said, crossing his arms over his chest as Andromeda nodded alongside him.

"It will," Bella smirked, rolling up the sleeves of her robe. " _Serpensortia."_

A long, black adder shot out from the tip of her wand, landing heavily in the centre of the circle that the four of them had inadvertently made.

"Congratulations, Bella," Augustus said dryly, drawing his own wand just in case the adder made a move to attack him or one of the others. "You summoned a snake."

" _That_ wasn't what I wanted to show you," Bella said, trying to glare at him but couldn't resist the Slytherinesque smile that slipped onto her pale face. She directed her wand at the snake. " _This_ is what I wanted to show you." And then she uttered, " _crucio_. _"_

The docile snake cringed as the spell hit it, curling up, then jerking, writhing, spitting, hissing.

"Merlin, Bella!" Andromeda exclaimed, jumping back, her hands over her mouth.

Edward went as pale as the snow beneath his feet, stumbling backwards and falling, landing hard on the ground where he stayed, watching on with horror.

Augustus, for his part, looked interested, if not a little uncomfortable. "Where the hell did you learn that?" He asked after a moment had passed.

Bella grinned, not taking her eyes off the snake. "In a book."

"They don't have books teaching you that at Hogwarts," Augustus said. "Not even in the restricted section."

Andromeda shuffled her feet, fairly certain she knew exactly which library would have those sorts of books; she'd wandered through it enough times as a child.

" _Stop it!_ " Edward suddenly exclaimed.

Bella raised her eyebrows. "Why should I do that?"

"You're hurting it!" He shouted, but Bella didn't react, keeping her wand hand steady. Edward stumbled back to his feet and launched himself at her, sending them both tumbling to the ground and causing the curse to lift and the snake to fall still; Augustus took the opportunity to vanish the poor thing.

"Get off me!" Bella snarled, shoving Edward away viciously and clambering to her feet, robes askew and thick, black hair speckled with wet snow.

"You can't use that curse," Edward spluttered, still lying on the ground as he tried to catch his breath.

"Watch me," Bella said, her upper lip curling as she turned to point her wand at the snake once more. But it had gone. She span around, glaring at the cowering boy with all her might. "You vanished it!"

"No I didn't!" Edward spluttered.

" _Liar!_ "

"I swear, it wasn't me!"

Bella took a step closer to him, raising her wand. "You are _so_ going to pay for that! Cru-"

"BELLA!" Andromeda screamed, flinging herself forwards, clutching on to her sister's wrist as Augustus watched on in uncomfortable silence. "You can't! That's illegal! You'll get sent to Azkaban!"

Bella snatched her arm away, training her wand directly at her target but staring straight at her sister, her pale cheeks flushed and her dark eyes sparkling manically.

"So?" Bellatrix said.


	2. Perfect Procrastination

**A/N: Written for the QLFC round 2, Chaser 3 for Puddlemere**

 **Word count without author's note: 1,594**

 **Prompts: Write about someone preparing for or taking an exam in the subject.**

 **3\. (word) Procrastinate**

 **8\. (picture)**

 **6\. (song) Check yes Juliet - We The Kings (side note, I literally am in love with this song so if you've never heard it before seriously check it out)**

* * *

Everything about life seemed to be annoying James that evening. The heat from the crackling fire felt blisteringly hot. The silence of the usually rowdy Gryffindor common room was deafening. Even the red plush chair he was sitting on felt as hard as nails, causing him to squirm every few seconds, trying to get comfy.

He knew why he felt this way. How could he not? Lily had forced him to do it since seven am that morning. _Revision._ The R-word. The thing he and Sirius had protested against since their Autumn term tests back in first year. It was like homework, only worse, because with homework, you could do it for two hours and be done but with revision... _oh no._ Eleven hours a day – at least! (James had heard some of the Ravenclaws were managing fourteen). Essentially, revision was the bane of his existence.

"Okay," Lily said, leaning forwards and keeping her voice low so as not to disturb the other silent workers. "Describe and explain the Bond of Blood charm with reference to the precise wand movements, incantation and circumstances required to activate it."

Her boyfriend didn't reply.

"James!" Lily hissed after a moment, causing a nearby fifth year studying for her upcoming OWLs to glare over at the pair. She lowered her voice. " _James_ , aren't you listening?"

"Huh?" He said, lifting his head up from his parchment to stare blankly at her from behind crooked glasses. "Sorry, what? Did you say something?"

" _Yes,_ " Lily said through gritted teeth.

"Oh." James awkwardly shifted the closest book, _Olde and Forgotten Bewitchments and Charmes_ by E. Linus _,_ slightly to the left, shielding his parchment from Lily's fiery gaze. "I was busy, uh, copying out the incantation for the Caterwauling Charm. Could you repeat whatever it was you said?"

Lily fixed him with a blank gaze before reaching behind the strategically placed book and snatching his parchment right out of his grasp. " _James!_ " She hissed again, causing the same fifth year to turn and glare. "What is this?" She waved his parchment in front of his face, making it exceedingly difficult for James to focus on the many doodles and scribbles adorning it.

"Revision?" He tried.

Lily's green eyes narrowed dangerously. "Procrastination more like."

James shrugged his shoulders and huffed loudly, relaxing back into his chair. "I already told you, Lils, I can't do it. I give up."

"Give up?" the red head repeated, her eyebrows rising. "You do realise we have our NEWT Charms exam in less than ten hours and you've been doing nothing but scribbling on parchment for the past thirteen! Remind me why I went on a date with you again?"

James grinned, apparently oblivious to her former rant. "Because I'm-"

They were both interrupted by the harsh scraping of wooden chair legs against the floor. A little way away, Remus had spun his chair around and was glaring fiercely at the couple... As were the rest of the fifth and seventh year Gryffindors dotted about the room, James suddenly noticed. "Can you two," Remus managed, the combination of stress and the recent full moon paling his normally tanned skin and curling his hands into fists, "either get out or _shut up._ "

Lily's cheeks went bright red. James glanced at Sirius, sitting over on the same table as their werewolf companion, but his best mate just shrugged apologetically, not that that really surprised James. The Black had always liked Charms... and Remus.

"So," James whispered to his girlfriend, keeping his voice as quiet as he possibly could. "How about it then?"

"How about what?" Lily muttered, burying her crimson face in a book as their fellow Gryffindors turned back to their own revision.

"Going out."

"I'm not tired," Lily said.

James shook his head at her adorable innocence. "Not to the dorms," he said then inclined his head toward the common room entrance. " _Out._ "

"James," Lily sighed, running a hand through her thick, red hair and sending him an exasperated look. "It's eleven, way past curfew, and besides, in case you'd forgotten, we have a Charms NEWT exam tomorrow!"

"Oh come on," James wheedled, leaning closer to her across the table, "it'll be fun. Much more fun than staring at some boring notes."

"I said no," Lily declared, staring pointedly back down at her open books. "And that's an end to it."

Which of course meant to James that that was most certainly not an end to it. He stood, grabbing Lily's hand as he did so.

" _What are you doing?_ " She hissed, causing several nearby students to glance over at them.

"Don't cause a commotion," James whispered, raising an eyebrow and giving her hand another tug. "Let's go."

"I hate you for this, James Potter," Lily grumbled, getting to her feet – but only so that she wouldn't get yelled at for making too much noise again.

"That's the spirit," James said, pulling her over to the round common room entrance and ignoring the eyes on their backs. Two seconds later, and the portrait swung closed behind them.

"Congratulations," Lily said, speaking freely for the first time since they'd returned from dinner four hours ago. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest. "Now we'll get kicked out before we even get the chance to sit our exam."

James grinned again, the smile lighting up his whole face. "Excellent, even more reason to go on this little adventure!"

"No," Lily said hotly. "Not excellent! In fact, this is the least excellent situation I have ever been - _James!_ _What are you doing?"_

"Hush, Lils," James replied, continuing to saunter off down the corridor, gripping her hand firmly in his. "Filch might hear you," he leant in closer, "he has spies everywhere."

"What, really?" Lily asked, though the worry quickly seeped from her voice when she caught sight of the laughter dancing in James's brown eyes. " _Not funny,_ " she said.

"You never know," James shrugged. "All the time Filch has spent at Hogwarts. Surely he's made friends with at least one portrait."

"Doubtful," Lily replied, glancing back over her shoulder at the portrait of the Fat Lady (who was currently leaning against the frame with a wine glass in one hand and her eyes half closed) and drawing to a stop. "Look, James, this was a nice idea and everything but we should go back. I _really_ have to revise for this Charms exam tomorrow-"

"Lily," James said, his voice earnest as he took her other hand, gazing into her beautiful green eyes. "You've been revising everyday for these exams since March - I should know, you've been making me do it too… Even if I did spend most of the time doodling - so there is no way that someone as hard-working and as intelligent as you could possibly fail. The best thing you can do now is relax."

Lily smiled down at the floor, her cheeks flushed red. "Thanks, James, but-"

"Students! Out of bed!"

The two span around, expressions akin to deer caught in the headlights, to see none other than Filch, lumbering down the corridor with his mangy cat at his heels, blocking off the only way back to the common room.

James didn't waste a second. "Run, Lily, run," he yelled, sprinting down the corridor away from Filch, their interconnected hands forcing her to follow. They rounded the first corner and James pulled them behind a large tapestry depicting one of the many goblin wars. It lead to a long, dark passageway stretching into the distance.

"Does Filch know about this one?" Lily gasped as James pulled her forwards, however, the sound of heavy footfall and the pad pad pad of paws on the ground answered her question for her.

"It appears so," James said, tightening his grip on her hand. "But that doesn't mean we can't lose him, come on, this way."

Together, they raced out of the passageway, down a narrow corridor, up a spiral staircase, through a false wall, past a suit of armour, along even more corridors. Finally, they drew to a stop, both gasping for breath and Filch nowhere to be seen.

"Merlin," Lily said, doubling over and clutching her side. "It feels as though I have eight-hundred stitches."

"At least we got rid of him," James panted, leaning up against the frame of one of the large, south-facing windows dotted down the corridor for support. "Though I suppose that means we'll have to do the exam tomorrow," he added, winking at her.

Rolling her eyes, Lily moved over to where James was stood once she'd caught her breath and peered through the glass. The lake spread out beneath them, its surface as cool and clear as ice, reflecting the glittering stars above. "Hogwarts is beautiful at night," she said softly.

James nodded, brushing a stray strand of red hair behind Lily's ear. "And yet only the troublemakers who sneak out get to witness it," he said, smiling. "One of the perks of being a troublemaker."

Lily laughed, the sound sparkling in the calm air. "Then I suppose this is one of the perks of dating a troublemaker."

"I suppose it is," James agreed, gazing down at her. Slowly, she lifted her head until their lips met and there they stayed for a moment, revealing in the fact that despite the pile of exams they had that week, despite them having to leave Hogwarts behind in less than a month, despite the war raging out in the wizarding world, they'd still managed to find their own moment where everything was perfect.


	3. Stargazers

**A/N: Written for the QLFC round 4 - Centaur, chaser 3 for Puddlemere.**

 **Prompts: 14. (dialogue) "Do you really need to say that?"**

 **7\. (image)**

 **10\. (setting) lake**

 **Word count without a/n: 935**

 **Okay, so I've had non-stop exams this week and wrote this in about two hours on the day it needed to be sent in. It hasn't been beta-d so um... I apologise.**

* * *

The night couldn't have been clearer. The dark canvas of the sky stretched from snowy mountain top to faint valley floor and was splashed with millions of fat, sparkling stars that shone down on a small circle of young centaurs below. The chilly, winter air curled up their nostrils, bringing with it the scent of mallowsweet and sage from the dense forest on the other side of the frozen lake.

"The future," the only adult centaur among them began. "Is thought to be strange and mysterious. A place tucked away behind a veil through which we cannot pass. But, for those who have learnt the ways of the stars, the veil can be lifted, allowing glimpses into the room beyond." He paused, six gleaming pairs of eyes eagerly trained on him. "This ancient art has been passed down through the generations. As my fathers taught me, so we shall teach you and so you shall teach your offspring."

The silence was tangible, the young centaurs' excitement crackling in the air, however, there was one among the seven whose eyes were rested instead on an icicle hanging from a branch to the left of their teacher's magnificent head, watching the steady drip, drip, drip of water.

"Abel," the teacher called and the young centaur snatched his focus back. "What night is it tonight?"

"The, um," Abel stammered, shifting from hoof to hoof as the other centaurs stared at him. "Solstice?"

"Indeed," the teacher agreed, his bronze eyes burning into Abel's for a moment before he continued. "The winter solstice. The longest night of the year. It is during this night that the stars are at their brightest and so it is traditionally when centaurs such as yourselves are first introduced to the divine art of reading the stars..."

And so he continued, delving into the many visible constellations and planets and divulging their meaning. Six of the seven foals were completely enraptured but Abel's gaze soon drifted away from the stars and down to the ground where he was pawing at the powdery snow with his hoof. The lesson stretched on as the hours wheedled past, finally ending when the vast sky began to lighten, hinting that the first rays of sunshine would soon be dancing over the mountain top.

"Alas," the teacher sighed. "Even on this night, the stars do not stay for long. Go, foals, return to the herd with your new knowledge." Smiling and laughing, the centaurs dispersed, beginning to scamper around the edge of the lake toward the forest when their teacher called, "Abel, wait behind please."

The young centaur gave the forest a wistful glance before trotting back with his head angled towards the ground.

"Abel," the teacher said, looking down at him from his considerable height. "I understand that learning to read the stars is a difficult task and may come naturally to some more than others so confusion, especially during your first lesson, is nothing to be ashamed of."

"I'm not ashamed," Abel said quietly, his innocent blue eyes still fixed on the ground. "I just... don't... get it."

"I can give you private tutoring if you wish," the teacher offered. "We can recap the constellations-"

"No," Abel said, his hoof hitting the ground. "I don't get why we have to spend every night staring at some dots in the sky."

The teacher's bronze eyes looked blankly at him. "To see the future," he uttered as though it were obvious, which, to any centaur, it should be.

"But," Abel said, licking his lips nervously. "Do you really need to do that?"

His teacher's eyes hardened. "Of course."

"Why, though?" Abel said, finally meeting his teacher's gaze. "What's the point in learning about what's going to happen if there's nothing we can do to change it? We're not even allowed to speak humans let alone tell them about what the stars say so how can knowing help anyone? And how do we know that what the stars say is actually right. How does the position of some lights determine our lives? We should find out about the future by living it, day after day, instead of stargazing."

The teacher stared down at him in silence as Abel's gaze dropped, a realisation that even if he had been thinking of that little speech for the past however-many-hours, he probably shouldn't of said it, dawning upon him. The teacher took a step closer, now towering over the foal even more than he already had been. "If I were you," he said, his voice low, "I would never let those thoughts out of your head again. For now, your age pardons you, but repeat and you may not be so fortunate."

Abel slowly nodded his head, though his blue eyes were narrowed.

The teacher sighed, turning his gaze away to stare at the frozen lake through the dawn light, his voice becoming softer. "Believe me, Abel, I say this for your own good. The herd is not forgiving of anyone who abandons their holy art. In a day where centaur herds are few and far between thanks to the activities of the humans who assume they have a right to control, our pride and our talents are all we have left." He solemnly looked back at the foal. "Understand?"

"I suppose," Abel murmured.

"Good," the teacher said. "Run back to your parents and your friends then and remember my warning."

Abel slowly nodded and trotted off, his head down.

The teacher sighed, turning to face the hard ice of the frozen lake. His formidable features softened as he stood there, lost in thought.


End file.
